John Terry Celebrates As Arsenal Fall Short of ‘Unbeatable’ Chelsea Record

The Gunners had been looking to break one of the Premier League’s most famous records.

Arsenal were chasing down Chelsea’s defensive record. | George Wood/Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Arsenal’s status as the favourites to win the 2025–26 Premier League title is built around their defence, but the Gunners’ bid to be remembered as the greatest back line in league history is now officially over.

Mikel Arteta has created a defensive unit so dominant that teams are struggling to score against them, and a stunning start to the season had many believing this could be the year that Chelsea’s famous defensive record from 2004–05 could finally be beaten.

Led by José Mourinho, Chelsea created the meanest defence in Premier League history as they conceded just 15 goals across 38 games en route to winning the title.

John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho formed one of the league’s all-time great partnerships, flanked most often by Paulo Ferreira on the right and future Arsenal man William Gallas on the left and ahead of goalkeeper Petr Čech as Chelsea made light work of the rest of the division.

Their record was secured for another year at least as Arsenal’s 3–2 defeat to Manchester United saw the Gunners move up to 17 goals conceded for the season.

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How Arsenal Compared to Chelsea’s Defensive Record

Defensive solidarity is key for Mikel Arteta. | Nicolò Campo/LightRocket/Getty Images

It did not take long for Arsenal to set their sights on Chelsea’s defensive record.

Having conceded just once in their first four games and sitting on three goals shipped after 10 outings, Arsenal were on pace to shatter the record and were neck-and-neck with a Chelsea side who conceded nearly half of their goals across the final two months of the season. Even if they started to falter midway through the campaign, a solid ending could have led Arsenal to the record.

In reality, not since that fourth round of fixtures were Arsenal level with Chelsea, when the two sides had conceded one goal apiece. A 1–1 draw with Manchester City in late September left Arteta’s side playing a game of catch-up and Arsenal never managed to rediscover the necessary pace.

Gameweek	Chelsea 2004–05 Total Goals Conceded	Arsenal 2025–26 Total Goals Conceded
1	0	0
2	0	0
3	0	1
4	1	1
5	1	2
6	1	3
7	1	3
8	1	3
9	2	3
10	2	3
11	3	5
12	3	6
13	4	7
14	6	7
15	6	9
16	6	10
17	8	10
18	8	11
19	8	12
20	8	14
21	8	14
22	8	14
23	8	17

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John Terry Revels in Arsenal’s Slump

John Terry (right) was eager to celebrate the record’s survival. | Paul Mcfegan/Sportsphoto/Allstar/Getty Images

Blues legend Terry, an integral part of the famous record, has regularly warned rivals that conceding fewer than 15 goals across an entire season will be nearly impossible.

Arsenal may have given him a scare, but Terry was eager to pop open a bottle of wine and celebrate the legacy of his record for at least another season.

“January the 25th, 2026, and the record is safe,” he said on TikTok. “Petr Čech, Paulo Ferreira, Ricky Carvalho, William Gallas, it’s time to celebrate.

“Can this record of 15 goals conceded in one season ever be beaten? I’m saying no. I have to say, I was a little bit worried, the way Arsenal started the season, but it’s only January and the record is already gone. It’s safe for another year.”

In another Instagram post, Terry shared an image alongside Carvalho from the 2004–05 campaign. “Let’s set a f------ record that will NEVER be beaten,” he wrote.

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Will Chelsea’s Defensive Record Ever Be Beaten?

Chelsea’s record will be tough to break. | Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar/Getty Images

While Terry has warned of the difficulties of beating Chelsea’s tally of 15 goals conceded, he has often confessed the Blues should never have allowed themselves to even reach 10 in 2004–05.

Indeed, by the 28th round of fixtures, Chelsea were still sitting on eight goals conceded, having not conceded on a run of 12 games, but that defensive solidarity disappeared as fatigue began to set in and Chelsea shipped seven goals in the final 10 outings to end the year at 15.

Matching that pace is clearly going to be an incredibly difficult task for any team, with Arsenal the latest to come to that realisation.

It is worth noting, however, that another iteration of Arsenal actually sit closest to Chelsea when it comes to the time needed to concede 15 goals in a season. Back in 1998–99, a defence made up of Lee Dixon, Martin Keown, Tony Adams, Nigel Winterburn and goalkeeper David Seaman only hit 15 in the 34th round of fixtures, ending the campaign with a then-record return of 17 goals conceded which many assumed would be impossible to beat before Chelsea came along.

Most Games Needed to Concede 15 Premier League Goals

Season	Team	Games Needed
2004–05	Chelsea	38
1998–99	Arsenal	34
1993–94	Arsenal	28
2008–09	Man Utd	28
2007–08	Man Utd	27
2005–06	Chelsea	26
2021–22	Man City	26
2018–19	Liverpool	25
2020–21	Man City	24
2003–04	Arsenal	23
2017–18	Man City	23
2019–20	Liverpool	23
2022–23	Newcastle	23
2025–26	Arsenal	23

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